9 INVESTMENTS TO FAST TRACK YOUR CAREER

BY Nischala Murthy Kaushik22 Feb 2016

ABOUT ME@BEYOND WORK

Mom

Blogger with byline in Economic Times and Huffington post

Twitterati

Advisor / Mentor

Teacher

Student of life

@WORK

Strategist

Marketer

Digital Artisan

Content Crafter

Thought Leadership

Blog @ https://nischalamurthy.wordpress.com/ ; Follow on Twitter @nimu9

BIGGEST GAPS FOR WOMEN @ WORK

ASPIRATIONAMBITION

BUSINESS ACUMEN

CONFIDENCECONNECTIONS

A B CAll above come at a SIGNIFICANT price in terms of CAREER GROWTH and

COMPENSATION

So how can these be addressed?

BY MAKING CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN…

KNOWLEDGE CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Know what you know; Know what you are good in

2) Invest in upgrading knowledge – Set personal learning targets (every 6 months or 1 year); Through official channels or MOOC – Best if you can do a certificate course

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Knowledge is Power

• In technology industry, Knowledge is what gets you a job, keep your job, perform in your work and how much you can earn

• In the long run, the knowledge which truly makes a difference is specialist knowledge (depth), applied knowledge (experience) or multi-disciplinary knowledge (combination of two / three knowledge areas)

KNOWLEDGE CAPITALKNOW enough that you don’t look like a

foolKNOW enough to be an

expert

KNOW enough that they don’t fool you

Don’t KNOW! And its OK

GOOD HEALTH CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Invest in your health

2) Make exercise a part of your life; If nothing a walk after lunch and take the stairs

3) Get your medical tests regularly

4) Home cooked food is best

5) Take vitamin and mineral supplements (after consultation with doctor)

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Health is Wealth

• Quality of your health will determine the length of your career

• Physical heath, emotional heath and intellectual health all play a part in one’s overall good-health

GOOD HEALTH CAPITAL

EmotionalPhysical

Mental / Intellectual Social

WORK PERFORMANCE CAPITAL

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Be clear on what are the expectations of the role ; Talk to your manager and other key stakeholders

2) Be dedicated and work smart – Find hacks for everything

3) If you don’t know, ask

4) Expand your portfolio every 2-3 years ; horizontally or vertically

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Inputs and Efforts are important; but Output and Outcomes are what are measured and rewarded

• Delivering what is expected out of you is a “hygiene parameter” – Reflects your knowledge, skills and commitment

• This is strongly linked to your personal brand and people’s perception of you

GOOD-WILL CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Earn good-will when the going is good – With time, with your work performance and with your attitude.

2) Good-will can be earned in many ways – By going the extra mile when a team needs it, or stepping up when there is a crisis, or making a difference when it truly matters..

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Almost all women who had long careers will vouch that if there was one thing that helped them navigate through the lows / fluid-phases of their careers, it was purely good-will of the employers, managers and teams they were a part of.

• As a case in point, marriage and motherhood are important milestones in the career journey of any women at work. Both almost always make her vulnerable, and compel her to make tough career choices. In such situations, good-will is a great enabler to help women keep their careers afloat.

GOOD-WILL CAPITAL

FamilyWorkplace

Neighbourhood Friends

NETWORK / SOCIAL CAPITAL

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) It is important to take the time and effort to invest, nurture and build professional and personal networks and relationships beyond your immediate line of work.  Call your school friends on their birthday, meet extended family, etc.

2) Use power of social media – Join Facebook groups (or create them), Join WhatsApp group or create them..

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• After a point in anyone’s career ‘professional networks’ play a key role in providing career opportunities, growth possibilities and new paradigms of work

• In the context of women, personal networks and support systems also go a long way in providing the elusive work life resonance.

NETWORK / SOCIAL CAPITAL

PersonalProfessional

Social Media Influential / Power

SKILL CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) In the context of women at work, the following skills are key to survive and thrive – Career Planning, Business Communication (Oral / Written), (Salary) Negotiation, Creative Thinking, Political Savviness, Complex problem solving and Decision Making.

2) It is important for women to understand lacunas in your current skill matrix and to consciously find ways to build and enhance these skills over time.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• A long term career is about having the right skills to take and make the next step in the career ladder.

• There are some skills that you are born with. But in the long run, self-acquired and personality development skills make all the difference..

SKILL CAPITAL

Key for career growth tomorrow

Key for your career today

Evergreen – anytime , anywhere Key for survival in life

TECHNOLOGY CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Knowing and embracing technology and mobile apps for making everyday life simpler, faster and efficient is critical for long term career sustenance and growth.

2) Be it grocery shopping, meal planning, bill-payouts, child safety, education or whatever your need is, ensure you invest in finding the technology solution relevant to your context and circumstance. And use it. The power of technology is in the application.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• There is a technology solution for almost everything that needs to be done on a daily basis. There is a mobile app for just about everything you’d want to do. You just need to search for it, install it and make it work in your context.

• Saves time, saves brain-power ; helps you spend time on what is IMPORTANT

• Let technology power mundane and operational tasks

FINANCIAL CAPITALWHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) Spend some time to understand money ; Read or enroll for a course

2) Hire professional services ; Algorithms work too!

3) Earn, Save wisely, Spend frugally and invest in line with your priorities and risk appetite

4) Take some risks ; Make some big bets

5) Review your portfolio regularly

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Money makes the world go round

• True long term financial freedom comes from making sensible financial investments

• Makes you independent and secure ; and give you freedom and flexibility to negotiate your choices (especially in marriage or doing something of your own)

PERSONAL BRAND CAPITAL

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) One effective medium which women can use effectively is the power of social media and (real / virtual) communities to make your views, voice and work sparkle.

2) Join, Contribute initiatives at work and beyond

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Personal branding is really about you and your work shining through among the crowd.

• Be clear on what you’d like your personal brand to stand for, and to find compelling ways to make your work and brand stand-out..

• Key to this is to own up your work, speak up when it matters and ‘stand out’ where it counts – so you can positively influence and manage others perceptions of you.

PERSONAL BRAND CAPITAL

In the professional world – industry

beyond workAt the workplace (team

and beyond)

In the world (at large) – Social media

Personal networks (friends , family)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THANK YOU